PAGC medicine gathering addresses suicide in indigenous communities
People from across Saskatchewan have gathered in Prince Albert to address the troubling youth crisis in the North. Sturgeon Lake drum group Ironswing welcomed them with a welcome song, honour song, and a victory song.
The gathering, titled The Community is the Medicine aims to equip indigenous peoples with the right information to address suicide in their communities. Frontline workers including teachers and mental health workers will sit next to students and youth from First Nation communities to listen to keynote speakers address the topic.
Grand Chief Ron Michel of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) said some of the issues First Nations are dealing with can be related back to a colonial mentality.
“One of the things I’ve been relaying to governments is ‘you have to give us the right to govern ourselves, the right to take care of ourselves,’” Michel said. “We’re peoples that took care of ourselves for many, many centuries… you’ve tried for so many years to colonize us.’ They’ve tried to take our language and culture and we’re still around.”